Tuesday, 7 October 2014

Meeting new people, whether it be for a new job, school or club, can be scary. I've moved schools my fair share of times and every time I get a whole army of butterflies commandeering my stomach. But, I have acquired a lot of tips that are actually helpful (I don't think parents understand how useless the advice "just be yourself" is) for meeting new people.

1. How to look confident even when you think you're about to pee yourself with nerves.

The first thing to realise is the biggest trick to looking confident is persuading yourself. Spending hours worrying the night before is just going to stress you out even more. If you feel yourself starting to stress out just repeat over and over again in your head that it will be fine. You'll actually start to persuade yourself and it will make you feel a lot more confident. If you are still a bit terrified though, follow these tips:
If your voice is shaking just reply to question with as few words as possible or even better just nod and smile.
Always wear a top/jumper with pockets on days where you are expecting to be nervous because then if you suddenly forget what to do with your hands you can put them in your pockets. Pockets are also good for wiping your hands because if you are nervous you sweat and sweaty palms is not a good look on anybody.
Just keep smiling however preferably not as though you are an insane cheshire cat!

2. Starting a conversation with a stranger.

First of all you need to do some secret spying. Try to keep it discreet or else people might be slightly worried that you have stalkerish tendencies. Look for people who are not in a big group because it is much more daunting to talk to a big group of people than one person on their own. Next look at what they are doing so for example try and see what book they are reading. Now this is the important bit, just walk over to them smile and ask a polite question such as "what book are you reading?" nod politely even if you are not listening to their response and when they have finished give them a compliment.

Be careful because giving too many compliments sound fake so try and just find one thing you genuinely like about them. If there's nothing you like about them you should consider being nicer to people.

3. What to do with your hands when you are nervous.

I know for a fact that when I am talking to people for the first time my hands just sort of akwardly hang at my sides,this is not good.It's a good idea to wear a ring when you are expecting to be nervous because then you have something to fiddle with. Also if you use your hands to make gestures whilst you are talking it will stop you looking akward and will help you speak without getting your words muddled.

4. Preparation.

It's not a military mission but there are certain things that can make life easier.
It's a good idea to wear:
Something with pockets you can fit your hands in and a ring (see looking confident and using your hands).
It's a good idea to think about:
What your favourite books,movies etc. are because these are things people are likely to ask about.

The most important thing about meeting new people is to try as hard as possible not to worry about it!

Thursday, 31 July 2014

I'm so sorry I've not updated in forever, I have recently been on a fabulous holiday to Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. (Hence the Arabic title translation!) Today I'm am going to go through all the weird beauty tips using 'Petroleum Jelly', or as we all call it, Vaseline. Vaseline is one of those weird things that we all buy without knowing what it is actually for, so I'm going to list my favourites tips for using Vaseline (or any other petroleum jelly, of course).

Number 1.

Apply Vaseline to your eyelashes every night before going to bed to gradually make them grow thicker and longer. I absolutely swear by this trick, although it is a more long term thing it is definitely worth giving it a go. P.S Once your mascara is finished, keep the brush, wash it very thoroughly and use it to apple the Vaseline to make sure you cover every lash.

Number 2.

For perfect beach feet this August, coat your feet in Vaseline before you go to bed. Put socks on before getting in bed, or for a more interesting approach, wrap your feet in shower caps and secure with an elastic band around your ankles.*

Number 3.

Overnight Vaseline face mask. Cover your face with a thick layer of Vaseline before going to bed and wake up with super soft, moisturised skin. Make sure you wash your face with your usual cleanser in the morning to avoid having a shiny face from residue oils.

Number 4.

This tip is perfect for people like me who are incapable of painting their nails without painting their entire hand! Put a layer of vaseline all around the nail and then just wipe it off after your nails have dried to remove any mistakes.

Number 5.

Healthy looking hair. Put Vaseline on the ends of your hair overnight and wash it out in the morning for less split ends and healthier looking hair. You can also do this on the lengths of your hair, not just the ends but avoid putting it on the roots as you will upset your natural oil balances and just get really greasy hair!

Number 6.

Make your own plumping lip balm using Vaseline and peppermint oil. The peppermint oil helps make your lips look fuller by stimulating the circulation in your lips, whilst the Vaseline moisturises them and adds shine.

Number 7.

Slather Vaseline all over knees and elbows to get rid of that horrible snake scale dryness that, let's admit it, we all get.

Number 8.

Put Vaseline on your forehead against the edge of your hairline before dying your hair to avoid dying your skin as well.

Number 9.

Mix Vaseline with a lipstick that you don't often use to create your very own cream blush.

Number 10.

Use Vaseline as an eye make-up remover. This is especially useful if you are struggling to find a sensitive eye make-up remover that really gets the job done.

Friday, 27 June 2014

Having dry hair can cause a huge wealth of issues. Your hair can get frizzy because the natural oils are missing. So here's a list of hints and tips for managing dry hair.

1. My number one rule is to never put shampoo on the lengths of your hair. You may be thinking, "Ew my hair will be greasy and disgusting" but honestly it doesn't. Using conditioner on the lengths of your hair instead of just the roots messes up the oil balance and can leave you hair dry.

2. Don't wash your hair too often. Washing your hair every day strips it of the natural oils and is really damaging. Try and wash your hair three or four times a week. At first, if you've been washing your hair every day, it will get really greasy after a day or two but just stick with it. Once you've changed your wash cycle, your hair will be able to go longer without getting greasy.

3. Do a deep condition. For a quick fix, cover the lengths of you hair in you regular conditioner and wrap it in either a shower cap or clingfilm. Leave your hair overnight and wash the conditioner out in the morning leaving your hair silky soft.

Thursday, 29 May 2014

Hi Goddesses!
So 4 days ago I ordered some make-up from the brand e.l.f (eyes, lips, face) and today it arrived so I thought I go through each product and review them. Just before we start, I am giving you the normal price for each item, but at the moment most of them are in clearance so I have put the sale price in brackets. P.S Pictures will be added soon, they won't upload to my computer from my phone at the moment.

1. Natural Lash Collection - £1.95
Included in this set is two sets of eyelashes, 1 adhesive glue and 1 pair of tweezers.
I'm not generally a huge user of false eyelashes because they tend to be a bit too over the top for me but I really like this set. They are understated and are perfect for a daytime makeup look. They are not self adhesive so you do have the fiddly buisness of eyelash glue but overall they are a really good eyelash set.

2. Cream Blush in the colour "Tease" - £6.50 (£3.25)
The first thing I noticed about this blush is how sophisticated the packaging is. Some of the e.l.f packaging looks quite cheap but the packaging for this looks really elegant and high quality. You also get a lot more of the product than I was expecting as the website photos make the pots look quite small. The blush has a really light, mousse like texture and the colour blends really well with the skin so it doesn't look caked on. There's nothing really that I don't like about this product but I would say that be careful because the colour is very different to the photo on the website, in reality it is much more pink whereas in the picture it looks very nude.

3. Baked Blush in the colour "Peachy Cheeky" - £3.95 (£1.98)
Sticking to blushers, next is the e.lf. baked blush. You can't definetely tell that this one isn't as expensive as the cream blush because although the packaging is still good considering the price, but it's much more flimsy. When I used the blush it was definetely subtle, maybe a bit too subtle. It doesn't really add much colour but it adds a lot of sparkle and definetely a bit of warmth. I would recommend this to people with a very pale skin tone as it's not going to be too overbearing and is a very soft pink. Next, I wet the blusher because the great thing about baked make-up is it can be used wet or dry. If you do use baked products wet though, don't put water on the actual product as leaving it damp will encourage bacteria, just wet the brush and then apply it. The baked blush was definiteley much more effective when applied with a damp brush, the colour was much more stronger and it was easily built up if you put another layer on. I would highly recommend using this product with a damp brush as opposed to just a dry one.

4. Natural Eye Brightener in the colour "Buff" - £3.95
As soon as I removed the seal from the eye brightener it got quite fiddly because it is a loose powder. I would warn anybody who buys the product to be very careful to screw the lid on tightly because otherwise you are going to spill powder everywhere! Inconvenience of it being a powder aside, the eye brightener is actually really good. The packaging is nice, it is really easy to apply and you don't get that powder drop down (as long as you don't put too much on) and it really helps to make the eyes look more open and awake. So to sum it up, this product is really good but make sure that you store it the right way up otherwise the powder all spills into the lid.

5. Waterproof eyeliner crayon in the colour "Pitch Black" - £3.95
The packaging for this is just a standard card box thing, on the back of the packaging it says "use as an eyeliner or blend out as an eyeshadow." Five minutes later, when I finally managed to break into the packaging, I started to test the crayon. I personally found the crayon quite difficult to use because it is not very precise and you have to apply a few layers before you get a really strong black. After using the product I was really worried about getting black eyeliner on the inside of my makeup bag because the lid is not very secure and comes off extremely easily, not sure if that is just something wrong with the eyeliner I got, or wether it is a bit of a fault with all of them. Overall this product is OK, but I didn't really find it particulary inspiring as it's good for a smokey eye but not really good for much else. When I tried to get it off using eye makeup remover it definitely proved that it has some serious staying power and it took a lot of scrubbing to get it off!

6. Brightening eye pencil in the colour "Plum" - £1.95 (£0.98)
This eyeliner has a much narrower tip than the crayon and I really like the colour. On the packaging it claims "glides on without tugging" and "instantly brightens and defines." and I would have to agree with both of those. The pencil glides on really easily but isn't too soft to create a thin line, and it is really easy to create a strong outline with. The colour is a slightly darker purple than the website photos but it's really good for day and night. It also comes with a sharpener which is fantastic. The only disadvantage s I found are that it doesn't stay put very well (the colour lasts but it smudges quite easily) and I have the same loose lid problem as I had with the other eyeliner. After I left the eyeliner for a bit it became a lot less smudgable and had a lot more staying power.

7. Baked Eyeshadow in the colours "Enchanted" and "Pixie" - £3.95 (£1.98)
As soon as these arrived I fell in love with the colours! The photos on the webiste really don't do the Pixie colour justice, online it looks like a slightly purple grey but in reality it's a muted pink. The Enchanted colour is also fantastic, it's a really warm shimmery gold colour that looks amazing. The baked eyeshadows have identical packaging to the baked blush that I reviewed earlier, which is a bit breakable feeling, but is fine. Dry, both eyeshadows are very similar to how the blusher was, they don't really have much impact as the colour is barely there and all you get is glitter, but wet they look great. The Pixie is a warm, shimmery pink and the Enchanted is a subtle gold colour that really sparkles when it catches the light. They are both very subtle when used wet or dry and I found that I had to dab on the colour rather than swipe it on as it takes a few layers to get a strong colour. Overall I really love both of these but the Pixie one is a very different colour to the picture on the website.

8. Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick in the colour "In The Nude"- £2.95
This 'lip gloss stick' is basically a generically named chubby stick, very similar to the revlon 'lip balm stains'. The stick has a bit of a weird smell, kind of like a peppermint scented crayon so I was a tad reluctant to put it on my lips, but actually it's alright. It's not one of these fruity lipsticks that you are pretty sure would taste amazing but it's bearable. The only problem was it left my lips feeling quite waxy which got really annoying after a while. Also, after having it on for a few minutes my lips felt slightly tingly, so I checked the ingredients and it does contain peppermint oil which I generally find makes my lips go a bit weird. Although the tingling died down after a bit I personally don't think the product is as moisturising as it claims. The colour is a really nice day time nude colour although I'm not sure it's really a gloss as it's actually quite a matte. Personally I'm not a huge fan of this product but it's not horrendous.

9. Mineral Lipsticks in the colours "Beautiful Berry", "Barely Bitten", "Rosy Raisin" and "Party Pink" - £5 (£2)
The first thing I thought when I opened these its that they're quite different to the colours on the boxes and in the website photos. The colours are all lovely but definitely not exactly what I was expecting. I really love the packaging on these, the packaging on the non-mineral (I don't know what the actual name is, sorry!) e.l.f lipsticks is quite cheap looking but the black packaging on these lipsticks looks really classy. So first I just want to go through the colour differences between the website photos and the real colours. The Beatiful Berry picture is quite accurate colour wise. It reality it's very similar but it's slightly more browny-red and less pink. Barely Bitten is very different the photo, in reality it's more of a bright, red-ish pink colour and is closer to the picture for Rich Raspberry. The pictures for Rosy Raisin and Party Pink are very accurate, no surprises with those ones really. I was really happy with the lipsticks when I tried them, they are a much lighter texture than the gloss stick and they make you lips feel really soft. They don't have the best taste in the world but it's alright, and the texture definitely makes up for it. So overall, I was really happy with all of the lipsticks despite a bit of surprise over the colours.

Overall I'm really happy with most of my e.l.f make-up, for me the highlights were:
- Mineral Lipsticks
- Baked Eyshadows
- Studio Cream Blush
and I was less keen on:
-Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick
-Waterproof Eyeliner Crayon
but I would definetely recommend e.l.f as a brand, I paid £20.68 for everything I've listed here as well as a bamboo lash and brow wand because of buying everything in the clearance, spending over £20 in clearance getting me the free Night Owl Mystery Set which included the lashes, lip gloss stick and eyeliner crayon as well as free postage for spending over £20! So yes, some of the things weren't great but at such a low cost that's to be expected really!

Sunday, 12 January 2014

YESSTYLE is an amazing website which sells clothes from many different asian fashion and beauty brands. One of my favourite brands on YESSTYLE is 59 seconds. They sell super cute, feminine, affordable clothing. You may think "But it's coming from Asia, won't the postage be humongous?" But fear not, there is free postage on orders over £20 at the moment, and often (outside of the festive season and sales) the postage is free! YESSTYLE is the place to go for cute fashion tights. They do all sorts of printed tights, from skulls to cats. I love the Rabbit print two-tone tights. They are not the most convenient and they don't go with everything but how can you resist that level of cute-ness?

I have made an order from YESSTYLE a few days ago, but from personal experience it will probably take around 3 weeks for it to arrive. It says 7-14 days for postage but I would buy stuff three weeks before you need it as sometimes the delivery dates can be a little unreliable. I will be updating this post when my clothes arrive so I can report back to you guys on the quality/colour/sizing etc.

Hey Goddesses, I'm back!
My YESSTYLE stuff arrived a week ago but I've been super busy and didn't have time to update (sorry!) I'm really pleased with my stuff from YESSTYLE and have taken a few photos to show how it looks. The skirt was only £3.60 and is amazing, but I prefer it as a top because as a skirt, it's a teensy bit short! The dress was called 'tangerine' on the website but is really more of a mustard yellow, it had a great vintage vibe and was only £16! I personally think the dress looks great with a bowler hat, because bowler hats are downright fabulous.

Wednesday, 13 November 2013

Christmas present shopping is one of those things which I always expect to be great fun, and always end up being stressful and expensive. So, to stop you tearing your hair out this christmas, I've set myself a challenge. Find some great christmas prezzies, all for under £15!

For the Gamer
Wether it be your brother, your godchild, your niece or nephew, they're sure to love the Minecraft Xbox 360 game. For those of you who don't know what Minecraft is, it's a survival game based around building things out of blocks. Prices vary, but the game is available in Smyth's for £14.99. Make sure you check that the person you are buying for has an X-box before buying this gift.

For the Girly Girl
For a gift that is perfect for teen girls who have a passion for fashion, check out the jewellery at the Kukee website. This website is a hidden gem, saving you from having to worry about buying the same gift as someone else.I especially love the Filigree statement necklace, it's so feminine and stylish.

For the tomboy
Not all girls love jewellery and clothes so here's a gift for the more sporty of girls. I love the Kahuna Ladies' Friendship watch. It's not overly girly and is only £13.20 at the watch shop!

For the fussy lady
Now this woman might be a mother, mother in law, aunt or grandmother. They are that person who seems to have EVERYTHING, kitchen equipment, perfume, jewellery, you name it, they have it. However, I've found the perfect gift. The meal time rules sign. The cheapest I've found it is £4.99 at Funky Honey. Finally, something you can give them that they don't already have!

Who else do you want advice on buying for? Leave a comment and I'll update with more gift ideas!